The institute director was attacked in his own office on Tuesday. Picture: Institute of Diamond and Precious Metal Geology

A man was arrested on suspicion of murdering the academic, who was director of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Diamond and Precious Metal Geology in Yakutsk.

'The institute director was attacked in his own office on Tuesday. He died from his injuries,' said Stanislav Platonov, spokesman for the Interior Ministry in the Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia.

The suspect, a postgraduate student in the institute, was detained in his apartment, reported Interfax.

Documents concerning the case have been forwarded to the Russian Investigative Committee's regional branch.